Broken Things
by Queentakesjack
Summary: Kyra Athens was a broken thing, thanks to Theon Greyjoy, Robb Stark, and Jon Snow. Time doesn't heal all wounds, it just festers it. Jon/OC Full detailed summary inside
1. Prologue

_**BROKEN THINGS**_

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**Summary: **Kyra Athens was a broken thing, thanks to Theon Greyjoy, Robb Stark, and Jon Snow. Time doesn't heal all wounds, it just festers it. She had been teased her entire childhood by Robb Stark and Theon Greyjoy, but never by Jon Snow. Except for that one time eight years ago. Now she and her family are back, and she finds out that her Lord Father and Mother are arranging a marriage for her to Robb Stark. Jon/OC and a bit Robb/OC. The story is more detailed than just the summary.

**Author's Note: For those of you that read my other fanfictions, I know what you're thinking. I know you're probably tired of excuses, but the fact of the matter is, I just lack inspiration. For those of you who read Somewhere Over The Rainbows, I have most of the chapter written out, but I've come to an un-climatic part of the story, so I have no drive to write it. Besides, I've been in a Game of Thrones mood for months now, and out of respect to my fans, I've tried not to publish this yet, but I just...I just need to see if people would bother reading this. **

**Anyway, for those of you that are interested in reading the story, The Athens house is made up by me, including their history, town, and characters. I wrote everything out, including their family tree and play bys and who's in their household. Eventually, I will add on bits of info about the house after every chapter for further understanding, without spoiling anything. **

**Also, please tell me if you're a little lost when Kyra or Jon tries to explain things about her family or where she's from, and I'll post clearer explanations in the next chapter, or pm you. **

**Enjoy!**

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**Prologue,**

_Jon and The Giant Grape_

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Kyra missed the wind. In Winterfell, it was just cold and dry. It was colder in Noxtown, to be sure, and the wind bit your face like tiny little knives, but it felt good. The stony ground, the mist they got from Sea Dragon Point, the thunder storms that vibrated off their stone castles and shook their floors. She missed it all. Well, it was home. She missed home.

To be honest, Winterfell itself wasn't that bad. She liked Lord Eddard, and his Lady Catelyn. Little Sansa was only five years old, but the perfect little lady. However, Kyra enjoyed the company of her younger sister, Arya, who was only three years old, but wild and headstrong, and seemed to enjoy the 12 year old's company. What made her stays at Winterfell unbearable were Theon Greyjoy and Robb Stark. The stays were at least once a year, and they often times stayed a month, and every time Kyra and her siblings visited, it was utter torture.

Oft times Kyra came with her entire family, her oldest brother Edwyle, her sister Alayaya, her other brother Lothar, and her other sister Aelinor. But eventually her two oldest siblings wed to their own noble spouses, and it left Kyra with Lothar and Aelinor, and now with her nephews that were close to her age. Well, one of them was a bastard, but not even her Lord Father thought that Bastards were any less family. Last year she had the company of her nephew and sister, with minimum involvement of Robb or Theon, except for the times when Theon would attempt to woo her older sister only to be shot down multiple times.

Jon, however... well, he was welcomed company. He wasn't like his half brother, or his father's ward. Not at all. Kyra smiled at the thought of him.

This year's annual Winterfell visit wasn't like the others. Lothar was training to be a knight, and Aelinor, now fourteen, was with their older sister Alayaya and her husband, Brandon Karstark, and their three babes, who would be two, and the twins would be five. Her nephews were also with Kyra's brother and his wife, Allyria. This left Kyra alone, for four long weeks. Her only decent companions was the child, Lady Sansa, and the babe, little Arya.

And Jon Snow. At least, that's what Kyra would like to think. He was nicer than his half brother, and especially Theon, but he hardly spent time with her. It was okay though, because boys didn't like to spend time with girls anyway, not to mention he was younger than her by two years. Kyra's mother said that boys mature slower than girls, but her father said that Bastards mature faster than normal children. If that's true, then Jon must be on the same page as her, right?

Kyra slid off her pony, and sat down on a stone in the area she found. The walls of Wintefell were getting too tight, but her parents refused to let her out to the Wolfswood. She didn't question why, her father was stubborn like that, but it wasn't like she was unfamiliar with the forest. She was twelve, and although she hadn't bled yet, Kyra felt old enough to be able to take rides without supervision. The most she got was the Godswood. She supposed it was good enough; she just needed to get away from Theon and Robb, who found it in their best interests to tease her about the way she looked. Or rather, the way she weighed.

She pulled out the rotten leathered bound books from her bag; she borrowed them from the library here. They were manuscripts about creatures that once were, like dragons, and birds just as large that would block out the sun with their wings. Such birds were her house's Sigil.

With her thick legs crossed on the large rock, Kyra enjoyed the gentle sounds of the wind hitting the branches, and the sound of her pony ripping at the grass on the floor. She missed the whistle of wind, but she suppose the Godswood was just as welcoming. She knew that she was being watched by the old gods, the gods of her father and his father, and his father before him, and so forth until her ancestor Doran the Dark. And that in itself was comforting... Until she heard the sound of distant laughter, and her fingers tightened on the ends of her book.

The laughter and chatter got closer, but Kyra, stubborn like her father, remained on her rock, her face buried in her book. In hindsight it probably wasn't a good idea to stay where she was, considering what happened.

"There you are," Came the mismatched voice of Theon Greyjoy. His voice sounded funny compared to the year previous. She heard her father's steward say it was probably because his balls had dropped. What ever that meant. "I could've sworn I heard your heavy footsteps leading this way."

Kyra remained silent.

"Look, Greyjoy, she brought her horse. Poor thing. Might have collapsed under her weight," That was Robb, who's voice sounded the same. When she first met Robb, she thought they would be friends. They were close of age, and from what Lady Catelyn had said, Robb was a sweet child. And at first, he was pretty friendly. Until Eddard brought home Theon as his ward.

"I'm surprised that rock hasn't collapsed, to be honest," Theon laughed. "A boulder on top of a boulder."

Kyra's fingers tightened again, her eyes loosing focus on the words on the page, her nose burying deeper into the book. _Just ignore them. Maybe they'll go away... _

"Are you listening, Boulder?" Theon walked right up to her, and pulled the bundle of pages away from her face. Kyra tried to turn away.

"Please, just leave me be," her voice was very small.

"What's that, Boulder, I couldn't quite hear you," Theon laughed, throwing a look back at Robb, who covered his mouth from laughing.

Kyra stood up suddenly, the book now shut and shoved into her bag. It wasn't ladylike to fight, that's what she was taught, even though she wasn't the best example of a lady, not compared to her sisters. And even if, she was so weak, she wouldn't be able to fight Theon Greyjoy, or even Robb Stark if she had tried. What would her father say? Surely she would be punished for hurting the Heir of House Stark, her mother's grandnephew.

"Have we upset you, Athens?" Robb asked, walking up to Theon's side.

Kyra didn't respond, but attempted to climb back on her pony, but with their eyes on her back, it threw her concentration off, and her pony whined when she put too much weight onto the side. The horse moved, causing Kyra to slip and land on her backside.

The silence of the Godswood was filled with the boys' laughter, and all Kyra could do was shut her eyes tightly, and daring herself not to cry in front of them. Her buttocks was sore from the hard ground, and her thick calves were scratched from sliding down on the stirrups, catching a little nick in the metal. Her pride was hurt most of all, as it ever was when ever she came to Winterfell.

She forced herself to stand up, feeling dirt on her skirt and on her legs, but she paid no mind. It wasn't new, she purposely wore this today so she could go riding. Just when she was about to climb again and gallop away, the sweetest of voices shouted from a near distance.

"Robb! Greyjoy! Kyra!" Came Jon's voice. Kyra for the first time turned around to see him a few feet away, "Dinner's almost done. Father wanted me to tell you."

Robb snorted, "Better get there fast, before Lady Boulder over there devours the whole thing."

Kyra whipped her head away from Jon, not wanting to see how much Robb's word stung her. It hurt more to be humiliated in front of him, than it did when he wasn't around. Giving up on the pony, Kyra took into the Godswood, running away from the three boys.

Jon looked between Greyjoy and Robb, and sighed. He never joined their chorus of teases on his second cousin, but then again, he never did anything about it. When they weren't around, Jon would find her alone somewhere, and took the effort to talk to her. She didn't say much, but she listened. He knew her for years, but he didn't know much about her, other than she was the youngest of her noble family, and had her own Bastard brothers as well as nephews, and sisters and nieces. Word is that Lord Raymund Athens had just as many bastards as King Robert, but treated them all like family. Of course, he remembered his father saying, that most of the Bastards live with their mothers in different cities all around Westeros, and he even lost track of them. The three that he knew well was Steffon Snow, Lys Snow, and Doran Snow, who was in Citadel to become a Maester. That didn't even cover the Bastards his oldest second-cousin had as well.

Theon and Robb were still mucking around, laughing at what ever jokes they made up for the day. Jon took his chance and followed Kyra's footsteps. It didn't take him long to find her, she hadn't gone that very far, not to mention, she wasn't very hard to spot. She looked like a giant purple grape sitting next to the Weirwood tree, staring into the water beneath. Jon liked grapes. Jon liked Kyra.

He paused at that thought. He liked Kyra? No, that didn't seem right... She was a noble, and he was a Bastard. She was his second cousin, first cousin to his Lord Father. He knew nothing about her, other than her family, and how she liked to read books. He knew that she would scrunch her nose up before she would cry, and would never make direct eye contact with anyone unless it was her father and mother. Jon knew that she bit her nails down to the skin, and that her ears glow red when people pay her any attention to her. He knew that her hair wasn't actually dark brown, but a red so deep that it could only be caught under the bright sun.

Jon was having a hard time looking away from her, feeling completely conflicted. She was a _girl. _He had no interest in girls. Not now at least, but he'd like to think that he had some youth left in him that he wouldn't turn into Theon, the way he paws at women now-a-days. And even if he did, could it really be Kyra to be the one that Jon paws at? There was another Kyra in Winterfell, just a servant's daughter. Nearly the same age. Kyra Athens paled in comparison to her. Well, at least, that's what most people would say...

He opened his mouth and took a step foreword, but before he could call to her, to ask her to come with him, or at least say something to make her feel better... Theon's voice cut through the air like a rusty dirk.

"Snow! What are you doing?"

He was caught off guard completely, and his mouth parted as his mind jumbled, trying to find the right thing to say. But for what ever ungodly reason, the word "grape" came back into his mind.

"I-I thought I saw a giant grape next to the Weirwood. It was only Kyra."

Jon winced before the cackles of his father's ward broke the air. He slowly turned around, and all the life drained out of his face.

Kyra stared at him with wide, glassy eyes, her lips open apart. Her book tumbled from her finger tips and landed at the base of the pond, the tips of the page dampening. Of all the places she came for comfort, under the eyes of the Old Gods always seemed to work. Except for now. She was humiliated. In front of Them. In front of Theon, Robb, even her horse, and _him. _The worst thing of all, in the deepest pit of her stomach, she wasn't surprised. She was just disappointed that her gut was right. Jon Snow was exactly like the other two. But he was worse. He led her to believe that he was a friend.

She pushed herself up and ran off, trying to hide from all their eyes. Even the Gods... Kyra was sure that they were laughing too... If they weren't, they would have answered her prayers years ago.

That was the last day Kyra Athens was in Winterfell, and the last day Jon Snow ever heard of her.

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**Thanks for reading this far! I'll be posting the Athens' family tree in the next chapter :) R&R are appreciated! **

**Happy Readings xoxox**


	2. Strangers

_**Broken Things **_

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**Dislcaimer: **I do not own Game of Thrones, or any of its characters. Kyra, and the Athens background is made up by me. I am not making money off of this. Also, the mention of a group of people called the Hamartians are a creation by my boyfriend, James (or Mr. QueenTakesJack).

He is planning to write his own fanfiction, that will sort of collaborate with this one, so that is why I mentioned them in my story, and you will be hearing more about them as the story goes on. Since he doesn't have an account on fanfiction, and doesn't want to make one, so I'll be posting it on here :P

**Author's Note: This chapter deals with a lot of names that are part of Kyra's Family, so I will be posting the family tree right under this note, so if you get confused, you can scroll up and look. I will be posting some play bys at the end, and the rest in the next chapter, and so on, since I dont want to overwhelm anyone. Eventually, I'll make a site where there will be picture aids to make life easier. **

**Raymund Athens, 67** - Lord Athens

- { **Steffon Snow**, 45 } (Black Brother) - bastard

- **Lys Snow**, 40 (Whore) - bastard

- **Doran Snow**, 35 (Maester) - bastard

**Daena Athens** _nee_ Stark, 55 - Lady Athens

- **Edwyle Athens**, 35 (Married to Allyria Royce)

- **Victorion Snow**, 17 (Taken the Black) - bastard

- **Raymund "Rae" Athens II**, 16

- **Lyanna Athens**, 13

- **Alia Athens**, 13

- **Yohn Athens**, 5

- **Alayaya Karstark** _nee_ Athens, 33 (Married to Brandon Karstark)

- **Robert Karstark**, 13

- **Daena Karstark,** 13

- **Alerie Karstark**, 10

- **Lothar Athens**, 28 (Knight)

- **Eddard Snow**, 10 (Bastard to a Whore) - bastard

- **Aelinor Frey** _nee_ Athens, 24 (Married to Steffon Frey)

- **Kyra Frey**, 4

- **Arys Frey**, 2

- **Kyra Athens**, 20 - main character, dur.

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Chapter One,

**Strangers**

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**KYRA**

Father was ill. I knew it. He knew it. Mother knew it. Everyone in Noxtown knew it. But he was stubborn like a bull, and just as big. We begged him to stay in the castle, to stay in the town, but he refused. He wanted to take a trip one last time before he went, which was surely to happen, as much as my mother denied it ever to happen. He wanted to go to Winterfell, one of his favourite places in all of the Seven Kingdoms. But, he wanted all of us to go, like when we were children.

We had only 100 men behind us, including the Birds of Prey league Noxtown was known for, two large carriages that held women and children, while the men road horses. Including my father, and, well, me. I trailed behind him on my hardy red mare, Rebel, whom I had since I was a child.

In the first carriage, road my mother, my sister in law Allyria Royce, my sisters Alayaya and Aelinor, and my brother's twin girls, Lyanna and Alia. In the second, two wet nurses, my sister Aelinor's babes, Arys and her girl who's name is also Kyra, as well as my other sister Alayaya's two girls, Alerie and Daena. I have a massive family, that we couldn't take everyone down with us. Yohn, my brother's youngest, stayed in Noxtown due to a sprained ankle, and is being tended to by our Maester. My half-nephew, Victorion is making his way up to the Wall to take the Black, which was a decision that wasn't made without argument after my half-brother, Steffon Snow, had died on the wall a few weeks ago. Steffon was our oldest brother, and despite the fact he was a baseborn, he was as much brother to me and the rest of the family as Edwyle, and Lothar.

Among those who were riding, was my father, struggling to stay up on his white and silver-haired stallion named Blizzard, me, as I said, my brother Edwyle, his oldest son and heir to House Athens, Raymund (third of his name, so we call him Rae), riding at his side with his matching gelding, only younger than my brother's. On the other side was my brother Ser Lothar, the Knight in the family, riding his black stallion, and trailing behind him on a grey pony was his young baseborn son, Eddard Snow. And next to me was Alayaya's oldest son, Robert.

Taking the front was the commander of the Birds of Prey, Mychel Caster, known as the Owl. Next to him, our Captain of the Guard for Castle Athens is Ser Kevan Whitehill. The rest of the guards and Birds of Prey took the rear and the side. Our party wasn't huge compared to most that travel with nobles. That was mostly because the trip from Noxtown to Winterfell wasn't long, and with the Birds of Prey protecting us, there were very few threats waiting for us in the Wolfswood.

The Birds of Prey is a league, a league that accepts all, female, male, bastard, mother, father, old and young, as long as their able bodied and ready to commit to the vow, and willing to endure taxing training some would consider torturous. The members don't limit to residents in Noxtown, as they had many members from all over the Seven Kingdoms, even some from the Free Cities. However, the League is set in Noxtown, and sworn allegiance to protect the citizens of the town, the North, and House Athens. They aren't large league, but they're known to be the best fighters in all of Westeros.

Their reputation is large, but many don't know what they do. While the Night's Watch vows to protect the realm from what lies beyond the wall, The Birds of Prey protect the innocent, preserve honour, keep peace, and enact justice to those who need or deserve it. Unlike the Night's Watch, The Birds of Prey is a military league that is far more strict, but not as old. While many of them are considered to be assassins of rapists and murderers and such, Birds rarely use death as a punishment. They remain modest, and that is why many a rumour is spread about them, and little is known about them outside of Noxtown.

I look up ahead at my father and The Owl, who was wearing his white and brown feathered cloak, looking like the great bird he had flying over his head - his Eagle Owl named Nite - and I couldn't help but smile. Not because I fancied him, but because I wanted to _be _him. For years now, my soul objective has been to become a Bird of Prey, so I can be the commander in the future. It was my only dream and goal, though father would never allow it. Not because I'm a woman, but because I'm his youngest daughter. As if he didn't have a lot of those already. He also had nieces, and nephews, grandchildren, and baseborn children and grandchildren.

I'm no where near to being the heir of the Athens Seat. But like any noblewoman, my parents would like me to be married off to a worthy nobleman. I rolled my eyes at the thought of marriage. Of me marrying specifically.

The whole tradition seemed rather ridiculous. I witnessed many in my years, and the bedding ritual makes my skin crawl. The groom's men take the bride and strip her while carrying her off to the bedchamber, saying obscene jokes of what will happen to her, and then women take the groom and do the same, but undoubted he enjoys it. They always do, while their brides are often humiliated and embarrassed.

Why would anyone _want _to get married is beyond her. Do they really need a name and a piece of paper in order to breed and keep the family line going? It just didn't make sense to me.

I looked at my father, his hair white as the summer snow that littered the trees and ground. His skin was just as pale, but you wouldn't be able to see his illness behind that smile of his.

He always smiled when he talked about Robert's rebellion, and how he cut down hundreds of Targaryen guards in just a few hours with his greatsword, Talon.

"I used to wield Talon like a butter knife," he commented as he conversed with Mychel Caster. "Now I can barely lift it above my grandchildren's head."

"Perhaps you should rest your arms more, father," Edwyle said.

"You'd like that, wouldn't you? Only a matter of time before you can get your greedy little hands on it," my fathered laugh and my brother flushed greatly. "I'm only jesting, my boy, no need to blush like a maid. Gods be good, even your sister has a better sense of humour than you, and I haven't seen her smile in ages."

"I heard that," I said out loud.

Father laughed. His laugh used to be contagious for me once upon a time, but years have been darkening my mood, and I see more darkness than him, a dying man, who sees only sunlight. I don't know how he does it, what with all the death he had seen.

"Now, where was I? Ah yes... I heard that King Robert still hasn't killed those damnable Targaryens. Children, yes, they are, but children pose a threat. I should know," his smile was cheeky. Edwyle rolled his eyes while Lothar and Rae grinned mischievously. "Children grow up. I told Robert, I told him, send an army, not an assassin. Assassins could be avoided, armies are bigger, stronger, and harder to get around. And you'd be surprised at the strength there is beyond the Narrow Sea. Dothraki savages and the city Qarth has a huge reputation. Not to mention those men made entirely out of _steel._ Well, that is only rumour, but from what I heard, they are garbed from head to toe in armour, only their eyes are seen, and their skin is made out of mud. Now what are they called again? Blast, I had forgotten..."

My father talked about these men often. I suppose it was because he was interested in how someone could withstand living in so much armour under the heat of the desert. "The Hamartians, father," I told him before he could injure himself from thinking.

"The Hamartians! Yes, cleaver girl, smart girl...You've got your mother's memory...Anyway, as I was saying... Supposedly they don't let anyone see their faces except to their wives."

"I bet they look like shell-less lobsters," Lothar joked, "being cooked underneath all that metal. I feel sorry for their wives."

"They have no more wives," Edwyle put in. "From what I heard, all their women have been raped and killed, and only men remain."

"Should have garbed their women in steel too, then," Lothar joked again. Lothar had a dark sense of humour. He was the perfect arrogant knight.

"All women should wear armour," I cut into their conversation. "And learn how to wield a sword, and use a bow."

"If it were up to you, all women would be savage wildlings," Lothar rolled his cold blue eyes.

"If it were up to me, men wouldn't need to rape, and women wouldn't need to wear armour and use a weapon to protect themselves. A woman is probably getting raped right now, and she could have helped herself if she was trained the same way a man is, but fathers teach their daughters to be soft-hearted and delicate, so men could dominate them far more easily."

Father chuckled, "listen to your sister, Lothar. She has more wolf in her than she does bird. She'd be a better knight then you, that is for true."

Lothar scowled, "Must you wound my pride father?"

The group laughed at my brother's expense, save for me who only smugly smiled at him from behind.

It took a three more hours before we saw the massive fortress that was Winterfell. A horn sounded our arrival, and the gates opened, welcoming the Athens family.

Winterfell looked much more bigger than I remembered, but it was still the same. I already missed the wind. And my stomach started to churn from nerves. I haven't see my cousins in nearly a decade. I rather not have any of them recognize me, but I knew it wouldn't be in my favour. I pulled my hood over my head, shading my face, hoping I could go unnoticed for the most part.

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**JON **

Jon was beside himself. He hadn't known that the Athens were coming to Winterfell until a fortnight ago, and every day he kept on having dreams about grapes. He hadn't seen them for at least four years, but that was just Lord Raymund Athens, his wife and my grandaunt, Lady Daena Athens and their grandchildren. He hadn't seen the others in longer... He didn't mind seeing Edwyle, or Alayaya, or Aelinor, or even Lothar, even though he hadn't much of a friendship with them in the first place. But according to his father, nearly the entire family was coming down, including Kyra.

He grit his jaw and ran a hand down his face. He wondered if Robb or Theon even remembered her. He certainly did. And for a while, he thought he had forgot what he did to her, but every once in a while, the memory would sneak up on him and he dig himself a hole of self-loathing. He sent her ravens, expressing his regret, but he never heard back from her. Eddard tried to reassure him by saying that the bird might have gotten attacked, or the strong winds of Noxtown knocked it out of course. But Jon knew that his father was just trying to make him feel better. Kyra hated him. And she had every right.

He looked up at the sound of horns blaring. It's been years, but he recognized those horns. Jon bent down over a barrel of ice water and looked at his reflection. His curls were nearly impossible to manage when he was younger, but now they fell nicely around his face. Robb always joked about how pretty they looked, how they suited a girl more than a man. Though it was all in good fun, since Robb had the same curls, only red and more pretty.

Though his hair was often complemented on, he suddenly felt really self conscious about them. About everything about him. He hardly grew out stubble, just above his lip and chin. Gods, Jon still looked like he was a young teen that just started growing out his balls. He was now ten-and-eight, which would make Kyra twenty. Surely she would be married by now, or courting.

Shouts were heard from outside the castle walls, and Jon had to pull his entire body up and drag his feet outside to the nippy air of Winterfell. The shouts were commands to the guards, and before he knew it the gates swung from the Hunter's Gate in the west, and Jon could see the rest of the Starks gather around the Courtyard. Jon took his time to file in behind the noble family. Even though he was constantly reminded he had a Stark's blood, but he was still a bastard. And Lady Catelyn would not have anything to do with him if she had her way. Ten minutes passed, and all that happened was people fussing over each other. Fixing hair, loose treads, and wiping dirt off noses. Rickon was a lost cause, however, who looked like he had spent the day rolling around in the stables.

Then the sound of hooves and a parade of feet trampling the ground was heard, and he could see the Athens banners. A stale blue flag with a large black bird across, the tips of his wingspan touching both ends, and a bolt of white lightning striking behind. The sigil was supposed to be the famous Noxtown Thunderbird, an ancient beast that is said to be just as, if not more mysterious than dragons. There was huge debate on whether or not the bird even existed, but to the citizens of Noxtown, one day the Thunderbird will return, and it will block out the sun with its wings, and shadow the land in war. Maester Luwin had said that it was a metaphorical meaning, what ever that meant. He said that the Thunderbird was an ill omen, but not an evil one, like the White Raven which was supposed to mean that Winter was coming. It's purpose was to foreshadow great battles, or even wars, and that the Thunderbird must only let the sun shine where it is needed most.

Again, what ever that meant.

But unlike the White Raven, The Thunderbird didn't exist. If it did, it sounded like it was bigger than any dragon he ever read about; it had to be, in order to block out the sun.

Jon snapped out of his thoughts as he finally realized that the host of no more than a hundred men and women thundered through the courtyard, filling up the walls of Winterfell with horses and carriages. He recognized faces immediately.

Lord Edwyle Athens slid off his horse first and went to aid his father, Jon's granduncle. Edwyle looked more like a Stark than an Athens. His mother, Daena Athens, was formally a Stark. In actuality, he is Lord Eddard's aunt on his father's side, which made Edwyle and the rest Ned's cousins, so that would make them second cousins to Robb, Jon, Arya, Sansa, Bran, and Rickon.

Edwyle had a long face, signature to the Stark gene, with dark brown hair and sturdy chin. He had cold blue eyes, like ice, but they were never anything but kind, and wise.

Next who came off the horse was none other than Ser Lothar. It wasn't difficult to spot him. Any girl with eyes were letting their eyes roam him with no shame, including his half-sister, Sansa. Lothar hadn't changed, you could tell in his swagger. He still had those handsome features, and feathery dark brown hair and cold eyes like his brother. Again, he looked much like a stark, except for the shape of his face. It was much too round and fair.

There was a younger man, who Jon had difficulty pinpointing who that was. Until, that is, when he realized it was Lord Raymund, or Rae, Edwyle's son. He certainly had grown up, and it seemed like Sansa moved her interests from Ser Lothar, to the younger lord.

Jon's eyes roamed the crowd, spotting faces he recognized, and others he took a while to put a name to. His grandaunt came out, follow by his cousins, who looked just as motherly as her, but still in their youths. Children were well grown, but still young in appearance. Some Sansa's age, and most even younger. But it seemed like he was missing a face in this crowd. Did she not come after all?

There was one rider who's hood was pulled over his head, but Jon wrote him off as one of those Birds of Prey that Noxtown was also known for.

Jon grit his jaw and moved his eyes away from the stranger to the ground Kyra wasn't among them, if she was, she wouldn't be hard to miss. And it seemed like Robb took noticed too as he whispered to Theon.

"Guess Lady Boulder was too big to fit in the carriage," they snickered and then quickly acted like he didn't say anything when Lord Raymund approached.

"Ned! Good to see you, good to see you!" Raymund beamed, his eyes wrinkling at the side as his grin stretched across his face. Lord Raymund looked rather different. He wasn't that old, but you could see how close death was approaching him. Though, it seemed by the life in his eyes and smile, that that never phased him.

"Uncle," Eddard smiled and kissed the old man on the cheek, "Aunt," he moved to Lady Daena, who was remarkably younger than her Lord husband, and still looked like she could bother more children.

Lord Eddard's smile faltered when he noticed the shake of the Old Bird's hands, "Uncle, are you sure you are well enough?"

"Nonsense, just get me a horn of wine, and I'll be fine," he reassured him, but one look at Lady Daena said that wasn't the case. Never the less, Eddard smiled.

"Of course. We shall sup soon, and then we can catch up," Ned looked around at the Athens host and squinted. "I'm missing some faces."

"Ah yes, just a few. Yohn's still in Noxtwon nursing a broken ankle, and Doran is at the Citadel," Raymund explained, taking a long winded sigh.

"And what of Kyra?"

Jon's ears perked up and he looked over to Lord Raymund.

"Kyra?" He turned his head over to the horses and bellowed, "KYRA! You rude girl, come over here and greet your cousins. Let the stable boy tend to your horse."

What? She was here? Jon's stomach turned from nerves. He looked around secretly, his eyes darting around, but he couldn't see her. Was she behind a horse? Jon caught sight then of the hooded man approaching them, and his lips parted in a small O.

The hood was pulled off and the light hit that auburn red hair that Jon hadn't seen in eight years, but it sprouted from the head of a girl he scarcely recognized. Her face was slender, not round and flushing, like he remembered. She had no more double chin, or a gut that nearly hung out of her tunic. Jon looked down, and found that her body looked healthy. Not terribly thin, but not terribly fat. She had wide hips, though, but he heard men say that her hips would be considered good breeding hips.

"Kyra! My have you grown," Ned smiled and enveloped the girl in a hug.

"It's good to see you, Cousin. It's been too long," her voice was even different. It was stronger, more confident, and you didn't need to strain an hear to hear it.

Everything about her was different, but Jon wished that wasn't entirely true. He was looking foreword to seeing the Kyra he once knew, and the girl that stood in front of his Lord father, wearing breaches, and carrying a short sword, was a total stranger.

* * *

**Heads up, Kyra's POV will be only in first, since she's my character, and I don't feel comfortable voicing Jon's thoughts in first point of view. Iunno, I almost did, and it just didn't sound right. **

**R&R, and Happy Readings! xoxox**

* * *

**Kyra Athens: **Thora Birch (red haired version)

**Raymund Athens:** Jeff Bridges

**Daena Athens: **Geena Davis

**Edwyle Athens: **Bradley Cooper

**Allyria Athens [Royce]: **Amy Adams

**Alayaya [Athens] Karstark: **Alyson Hannigan

**Brandon Karstark: **Ewan McGregor

**Lothar Athens: **Kevin Zegers

**Aelinor [Athens] Frey: **Rooney Mara

**Steffon Frey: **Michael Pitt


	3. Of Men and Mutts

**BROKEN THINGS**

* * *

I know, it's been so so long. I don't want to get too into it, but I have been busy with school and life, and it's hard to write when you have a lot of stress blocking any inspiration. Those who read my Somewhere Over The Rainbow have a better idea of what's going on. I'm just tired of explaining.

But good news, I wont be disappearing again after this chapter, because I already typed up chapter three after this. And hopefully by the time I publish that, chapter four will be done, and so fourth.

ALSO, as I promised before, I made a tumblr where I'll be posting pictures of the characters, and info, and outfits. It's easier than to post links in my profile.

**so it's kyra-athens dot tumblr dot com, and for the password, it is kyra. **

if anyone is having trouble viewing it, please PM me, or saw so in a review if you don't have an account.

* * *

CHAPTER TWO,

**Of Men and Mutts**

* * *

**KYRA'S POV**

I shared a room with my nieces, Lyanna and Alia, who were both thirteen - they were twins - and Daena Karstark, who was also thirteen, and had a twin brother who was in another room. Needless to say I wasn't very happy sharing a room with three young girls that did nothing but squable over how attractive Lord Eddard's sons and ward were.

After I had unpacked my clothes and other belongings, I took this moment to leave the room. Supper wasn't to be served in a few hours, so I decided to use that time to play with the hounds. If memory served me correctly, they were across the courtyard. I changed from my breeches to blue and grey skirts, with a black jerkin. I was dressing kind of lightly, since there were no need for furs in Winterfell. The tall walls kept most of the wind away, and that's why it was always so calm. A feat I never liked, since the wind was always comforting. It meant a great deal in Noxtown. If the wind stopped blowing, it was an ill omen.

I picked up my skirts from getting dirty by the muddy ground; if I were going to supper wearing these, I didn't want to look terribly dirty. However, in heighnsite, visiting the hounds wouldn't be a very good idea. But there was honestly nothing else to do, unless I go to the library, and see those scrolls and books that I was so invested in as a child.

Nearly halfway across the courtyard, a voice made me stop. A voice that I wasn't looking foreword to be reinquianted with.

"Well, well, well, Kyra Athens..."

I turn on my heel and see Theon Greyjoy approaching me alone. He had hair on his lip and chin, the hair on his head had thinned but darkened, and he looked less as charming as I remember him to be. Though, he was just as arrogant, you could tell in his swagger, with one hand hidden in his jerkin and the other on the hilt of his short sword.

"Greyjoy." I lost my courtesies over the years. Especially around men like him.

It wasn't subtle the way he scanned me up and down and I didn't try to hide my eye roll either.

"Did you split in two over the years?" He asked with revolting smirk.

"What do you want?"

"You developed an attitude as well... You sure you're the real Kyra Athens?" He bit his lip and scanned me once again, "Where are you headed? I'll walk you there."

Again, an eyeroll, but this time I turned on my heel, picked up my skirts and started walking my own way without answering him. It didn't take me long to hear his boots crunch across the ground as he jogs to my side.

"Still running away from me, I see? Can't say I can complain. The view is fair."

"There will only be two instances in which you will see my backside..." I snapped.

"Once when I am riding you like a hound does a bitch, and another you are sitting on my face?"

When I spun around on my heel, he was smirking, his gaunt comely face twisted in a perverse smirk. "Once when I walk away from you, and another when I use your skin for the hide to my saddle."

His smirk fell slightly, and now his eyes were challenging, "A girl threatens me. I hope you realize that I am not a boy anymore, Kyra. I don't fight with wooden swords anymore..."

"You speak as if you're a man. But you're no more the boy than I last saw you. You play with your iron swords, Ironborn. And I'll play with my steel ones, and we shall see which metal breaks first."

His cheeky smile was completely gone now, and he looked like a wounded, pissed off puppy. With one last smile, I turned back around and walked towards the kennel.

I smiled at the sounds of their yips, whines, and barks. Farlen was grumbling as he swung open the door to the shack, and paused as he peered at me as if he could hardly see me. Though the Thunderbird on my jerkin told him who exactly I was.

"Kyra Athens," he chuckled. "It's been a long time. Came to see my hounds?"

I smiled, "Of course. I'm guessing that the ones I remember are long gone by now?"

"Ah well, we still got Blizzard, but he's old and blind. The others we lost in hunts, or died from illness. Come on, I was just about to feed them. One of the bitches just gave birth to a litter the other week."

And sure enough when he guided me into the kennel with his bucket full of scrap meat, I heard the little yips and barks of puppies, and all memories of Theon from seconds ago disappeared.

* * *

**JON SNOW**

It's been a few hours since the Athens had arrived, and supper would be served soon. Jon and his half brother Robb were walking across the courtyard when they spotted a sullen looking Greyjoy heading in their direction.

"Theon! What's got your face all twisted and sour?" Robb asked, a slight smile at the end of his lips. "Saw you talking to Kyra..."

"The fat bitch doesn't know what she's missin'," Theon grumbled and stood in front of us. "I miss the days when she would shut her mouth and run off cryin'."

Robb laughed and Jon just stood there, gritting his jaw, and trying not to be caught glancing over to the kennel, where Kyra was.

"I haven't spoken to her yet. I still can't believe it, though... Did she hurt your pride that much, Theon?" Robb asked jokingly.

Theon went red, "No. She's just a stupid girl. If she had any sense she would have fallen into my arms and begged me to take her into my bedchamber."

"Perhaps that is what makes her wise," Jon somehow found his voice, tearing his eyes away from the Kennels. "You did treat her terrible."

Theon scoffed, but Robb agreed, "He has a point, Theon. You were rather cruel to her. I don't see how surprised you can be about that."

The look Greyjoy gave Robb was expected. Even Jon wanted to give his brother that look as well. But neither of them did anything but open their mouth to gape at Robb. Did he forget he was also one of the reasons why Kyra never came back to Winterfell as well? Not even Jon was innocent in this case, but unlike Greyjoy and Robb, Jon was guilty the moment he said it, and have been regretting it ever since.

But unlike his brother and his father's ward, Jon had no courage to approach her.

"I'm going to talk to her. It's the right thing to do," Robb smiled. "You two head back to the castle, I'll meet up with you later."

Robb didn't wait for them to leave as he swaggered off towards the kennel. Theon rolled his eyes, "She's going to chew him out. I love Robb like a brother, but he's mad if he thinks that she's going to forget everything."

Jon turned slowly to look at him, "Just like you did?"

Greyjoy glared at the Bastard, "Don't start, Snow. You're not innocent either. Worst of all, wasn't she your friend?"

Jon grit his teeth, "I'm going to my chambers." He turned on his heel and stomped off.

* * *

**KYRA'S POV**

Farlen left me to the litter of puppies; I sat on a stack of hay with one hound on my lap, and the others yipping at my feet, some tugging at my skirts, and one attempting to climb on the stack of hay to see what I was doing. I was too preoccupied with the bundle of fluff in my arms to notice the sound of crunching as boots approached the shack, and the sound of the gate opening. The small hound bit on my thumb with tiny teeth, then tried to attack the rest of my hand but failed to get it all in his mouth.

"Silly mutt," I smiled, wrestling him with my hand.

"Don't think I remember you ever smiling," came a voice.

Looking up, that very smile turned into a straight line when I saw who it was, "Lord Stark... What can I do for you?" I may hate his guts, but he was still the future Warden of the North, and therefore my superior. The last thing I wanted was an ill allegiance between Stark and Athens after he takes his father's place, especially just because a lack of formality from me.

He smiled, which was a change from Theon's smirk, "You can call me Robb, you know... We're family after all."

"Distant," I reminded, "I'm your second cousin... And I haven't see you since we were young."

"I suppose that's true," he crossed his arms and leaned against a barrel. He changed the subject, "What are you doing in here all by yourself? Why don't you come with me through the Godswood; we can talk."

The pup in my arms seemed to notice I wasn't paying attention to him, and then curled himself in my arms, and placed his nose between my thumb and index finger. "There isn't much to talk about..."

"I'm sure we can come up with 10 years worth of conversation," he laughed a bit, but faltered when I didn't join him. His brows furrowed and his head turned to the side like one of the hound puppies. "Kyra, what's wrong?"

I blinked at him, not believing he's going to stand there and pretend that there shouldn't be anything wrong. "You're fooling me, Robb Stark. Why are you talking to me? Why are you being nice to me?"

If he looked confused before, he was even more befuddled now, "What are you talking about? We're family-"

"No, we're not. We haven't been family for well over ten years. You're a stranger to me as much as I am to you," I stood up, gently putting the pup on the floor with his brothers and sisters. "We haven't even been friends."

Robb stood straight, his arms swinging at his side, his face turning more serious, "Kyra-"

"You don't remember do you? Or do you even want to remember? Of course you don't... The Perfect Robb Stark cannot possibly be a vile spoiled little Lord, so it couldn't have possibly have happened," I picked up my skirts and made way past him.

I could feel his aura change, much more darker than I did with Theon, "I see the fat moved from your thighs to your head, Athens." He turned and glared at me. At the comment I stopped and turned around, and did a very unladylike thing.

I punched him in the face.

"Nice to see you again, Robb," I said spitefully, and stomped off.

* * *

**Sorry it's so short, but it becomes more interesting in the next chapter, and by the fourth chapter, there will be more Jon/Kyra moments!**

**Happy Readings xoxox**


	4. In Need of An Excuse

_**Broken Things**_

* * *

**Hello hello! I'm back, here's an update. By the end of this chapter, you'll see things will become interesting. The next chapter I'm rather proud of for some reason. **

**Also, I've established a way to publish stories. First I will publish Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Then Ready to Stand. Then Broken Things. **

**I haven't decided if I want to continue 'Just Read The Book' just yet, I may want to wait, since it deals with me having to watch the movie while I write. **

**And I've been thinking about continuing my old Supernatural fanfic, since I've been itching to do more comedy. If so, a new update will come after I update Somewhere over the rainbow. **

**Anyway, hope you enjoy! Thanks for the reviews!**

* * *

CHAPTER THREE,

**In Need of An Excuse**

* * *

**KYRA'S POV**

I was in my room, finally alone without my nieces, combing out the smell of hound and mud from my hair, and scrubbing out the stains on skirt before supper. There was a knock on my door, and before I could let them in, they invited themselves.

"Mother wants to see you," Lothar had a smirked on his face. "You're in trouble~" he sang and laughed at my scowl. I knew this was coming. I sat up and held my skirt up in a bunch in my hand to my side, and pushed Lothar away.

"I can't believe you punched Robb," he commented while he lead the way to Mother and Father's bedchamber.

"Don't you have a whore to impregnate, Lothar?"

"The Winterfell whores can't handle my _wind_," he said haughtily, making long strides towards our parents' bedchamber.

"From which end?" I snorted. I always found the Noxtown 'wind' innuendoes to be strange. When a man says 'my wind' they're talking about their sexual prowess. When a woman says "The moon is red tonight", it means they are bleeding. Another saying is, "A storm is brewing", which means they're with child. The puns were always really annoying in my opinion.

We came to a large door, and I knocked, "Mother? You wish to speak with me?"

"Come in," her tone wasn't at all reassuring. Lothar flicked my ear before he left, and then left me to fend myself against the dragon that is my mother.

As soon as the door closed behind me, my mother rounded on me, her curls of honey brown bouncing around her face. "You slapped Lord Robb Stark?!"

"Punched," I corrected.

"_Punched Lord Robb Stark?!"_

In the background I could hear my sickly father chuckle, "Oh, come off it, Daena. Boys will be- Well, kids will be kids."

She snapped at father, "She is not a child anymore, Raymund... She's a woman grown, and should have been wedded summers ago!"

I rolled my eyes before she took notice; not this arguement again. I've heard it since I've reached one-and-six, and it never seemed to escape any conversation I had with my mother.

"She will wed when she is ready, Daena, love-" My father started in a fit of coughs, and the both of his looked at him concerned.

"Darling, are you fairing?" My mother's mood completely changed as she approached him, putting a gentle hand on his forehead

He waved her off, chuckling after he got his coughing fit in control, "I'm fine, woman, just bloody hungry. Let's get a move on before my stomach eats itself." With a great effort, Raymund Athens pushed himself off the bed and inhaled deeply. Mother and I both looked at him skeptically.

"And what of Kyra?" She brought the initial argument back in motion.

Sighing irritably, my father leaned against his cane and looked at his wife, "And what of her? If the Stark boy has any pride, he'd keep their little encounter a secret. Let's call it luck that only my squire saw the event, eh?" He winked at me and chuckles. My mom was still fuming and protesting, saying that I needed to be punished.

My father was making his way to the door, and I could see him sigh at my mother's protest, and then waved her off as he leaned against his cane, "I'll think of something... Come along now, woman, it's time to stuff food in that hole of yours."

I quickly followed my father out the door, looping my arm around his other arm as we made our way towards the Great Hall, my mother following by his other side.

For what ever reason, a noble person couldn't simply walk into a room to have dinner, especially when there were guests or special occasion. While everyone was inside standing, the nobles were arranging themselves of who will be entering first.

My father and Ned Stark will be going in first, arm to arm, then followed by my mother and Lady Catelyn. Now, back home, the couple that would enter next would be my brother and his wife, Allyria, however the Starks were a rank higher than us, and seeing as it is their home, the next couple that had to be Robb, and by default, me, since I was almost the same age and the only woman in our family without a husband.

There was instant tension between us as we stood shoulder to shoulder. I didn't get a great look, but his eye looked bruise. I had to bit my lip from smirking.

Behind us was my brother Edwyle and Allyria, behind them was Sansa Stark - now grown up and blossomed to a beautiful young woman - with my brother, Lothar. After that I lost track.

Before we entered, I saw Catelyn turn around to examine the line of family, and immediately saw Robb and I. "Robb, take Kyra's arm," she said through her teeth, much like my mother would do with me. Robb sighed and submitted to his mother's command. He extended his elbow, and I slowly looped my arm into it. Catelyn looked satisfied, but then she caught the light on her son's eye.

"Robb, what in the Mother's name happened to your eye?"

At that moment, my mother turned around too, but this time to look at me with a disapproving look. Mothers were sometimes far more frightening than an executioner.

He hesitated, and I could feel the stiffness in his arm, "Theon and I were sparring earlier. He took a craven's hit at me."

Lady Catelyn tisked and rolled her eyes before turning back around.

Finally the line began to move, slowly due to my father walking with a cane up front with Lord Eddard. When Robb and I got enough space between us and anyone else, I heard him whisper.

"You smell like hound,"

"You smell like you got punched by a girl," I let my smirk free now, and his grip on my arm tightened.

"Mind your tongue, Athens."

"You should spend less time worrying about the actions of my tongue, and more time worrying about the actions of my hands," Just when he spun his head to look at me, I dug my nails into his arm in a threatening vice, and we entered the Great Hall. I put on the best static face I could muster. Robb was doing the same, but there was a hint of a scowl at the corner of his lip.

We entered in slowly, the commoners and servants stood as the noblemen and women entered the Hall. My eyes roamed over the crowd, recognizing faces from my youth. The other Kyra, of Winterfell, who certainly kept her pretty face, and petite body. The Baker's boy who turned squire, and Hodor the Stableboy, who is just as enormous as I remembered. Then my eyes landed on _him, _and he was looking straight back at me.

My face fell, and I had to turn away from his dark eyes. I don't know if Jon did the same, or he kept them on me, but my skin was burning. Out of everyone in Winterfell, even Theon, Jon Snow was someone I was trying to avoid at all costs. I've been avoiding him for years; ignored his letters, I would burn them as soon as I got them so I wasn't tempted to read them. Surely it was about how he was sorry, but the wound he inflicted was deep. Not only did I think he was my only friend in this city, but I almost, nearly, _loved _him. He was my first love, albeit it wasn't mutual.

And that is why it is best that we do not talk or associate each other at all. It would be too painful.

* * *

**JON SNOW**

Jon watched as the line up of noblemen and women walked into the Great Hall, pair by pair. Due to the Athens massive family, it was a long line up.

A torch caught the light of ruby red hair, and his eyes were glued onto Kyra until she catch him staring. He looked away almost immediately, feeling like he didn't even deserve to be looking at her.

Eventually, they all began to sit. Jon was only a table below the noblemen's tables, being the bastard that he was. The only bastard up there was the young ten year old whom belonged to Lothar. Among Jon were squires and Noxtown's Birds of Prey.

"Jon," Someone calls out while the serving wenches begin to serve the first course of supper; Sweet Pumpkin soup, with hard bread, blue cheese, and some buttered carrots. Jon looked up and spotted the person that called his name; a face he remembered.

"Walder Rivers," Jon smiled at the Bird of Prey soldier he came to call a friend. Walder had the privilege to earn a title, which is an honour that very few soldiers of the Birds of Prey receive. Walder The Robin he was called, with a pair of robins that followed him around. If Jon remembered correctly, their names were Holly and Huey.

Even after Kyra had stopped coming to Winterfell, her parents did come at least once a year, up until four years ago when Lord Raymund got sick. So Jon hadn't seen Rivers since. He had grown quite a bit, but not terribly much. He was also much older than Jon, Robb, and Theon; he should be about 30 years old by now. Despite the age difference, Walder Rivers was a charismatic person, and would spar with them, teaching them things that only the Birds of Prey are known for.

As you've guessed it, Walder Rivers is yet another bastard son of Lord Walder Frey. From what Jon could remember, Rivers' mother was so desperate for Lord Frey's attention that not only did she name their son after him - like many others - but practically stalked his every move. It wasn't that she was in love with him - because who would? - it was because she was a mad woman, and was convinced she was a noblewoman and she had married Lord Frey.

Long story short, Lord Walder Frey had her executed for being a nuisance, and his baseborn son was adopted by a family in Noxtown, as per Lord Frey's request.

"Haven't seen much of you around, Snow," Rivers bit into his hard bread after he dipped it into the sweet soup. "Avoiding someone?" Walder knew about what happened between Jon and Kyra, but he hadn't ever brought it up in front of him until now.

Jon looked down at his soup, hoping that his unruly curls would shadow any possibility of a blush. "No," he replied gruffly, spooning his soup idly.

Walder knew he was lying, and Jon knew that he knew by the smirk on his face. "Jon, Jon, Jon... Why don't you just talk to her?"

"You've heard the story," he replied, just as gruffly. His eyes quickly glanced up at the head table, where Kyra was eating silently between Robb and her brother who were talking over her. Jon looked back at Walder, "I don't blame her if she wants nothing to do with me."

Walder rolled his eyes, "You are just going to make the wounds fester by ignoring each other."

"What do you expect to happen if I talk to her?"

"Anything. Right now, nothing is happening,"

"She doesn't wish to see me, Rivers, so let it be," Jon was desperate to end this conversation.

"Sounds like you need an excuse," Came another voice, this one non-familiar. Jon looked up and saw a younger man, one of the Birds of Prey that he never had the pleasure of meeting. However, Jon knew his face, because many of the women of Winterfell were practically in love with him, so it was hard not to notice him.

"Jon, this is Aliser Waters, The Song Bird," Walder introduced.

Jon nodded, "What do you mean, 'an excuse'?"

"An excuse to talk to her, of course," he sczootched a little closer to Jon and Walder and leaned in. "Tonight, after supper, we're going to play a little game in the Godswood."

Jon furrowed his brows and looked at Aliser questioningly, "Game?"

"It's called 'The Man Hunter'," he began, but was interrupted by Walder's groan.

"Waters, I don't think that's a good idea," Jon looked at his friend when he said that, and back to Aliser.

"What's The Man Hunter?"

Aliser completely ignored the Robin, and went on explaining, "Noxtown can get boring, so over the centuries a game was made to entertain, as well as to educate the ways of survival."

"It also resulted in a few deaths," Walder added with a heavy sigh.

"Not for years," the other Bird of Prey shot back, and then looked back at Jon. "Groups of two are set out alone in the woods. One person is the Man Hunter, who has to track down each group and 'hunt them down'."

"But there's a catch," Walder continued on, still looking skeptically at his colleague. "In order to win, the groups must compete in finding the Hunter's weakness. So they have to find clues before anyone else can find it, and before they get caught."

"How is that a catch?" Jon asked, his mind off of Kyra at this moment, and on this interesting game.

"Well," Aliser wiped his mouth from the mead that dribbles down the side of his mouth. "Sometimes clues can be hard to come by, and they aren't so foreword as you'd like them to be. There has been hunts that have lasted for weeks. And then of course, you not only are you competing with the Hunter, you are also competing with your fellow prey."

"What does the winner get?"

"Well, typically in Noxtown the winner gets a whore paid by the Hunter," Aliser replied.

"Not an option," was Jon's immediate response.

"He's saving himself for a certain red-headed Lady," Walder smirked, taking a bite out of a carrot. Jon gave him a shove and a growl.

"Well then," Aliser leaned back and had a very unnerving smirk. "I can think of something."

* * *

**I've updated character pictures on the blog of the characters mentioned here, and the rest of the Athens family, plus some of their bastards. **

**kyra - athens dot tumblr dot com**

**and the password is kyra.**

**remember, if you are having trouble getting to it, please PM me, or leave a review. **

**Happy Readings xoxo**


	5. The Man Hunter, Pt 1

_**Broken Things**_

* * *

_**Author's Note: So, here's finally chapter four. Some bad news, is that I'm gonna take a short break with this story, because I'm laking GoT Muse at the moment. I don't like it, but I'm hoping that I'll soon get back into the funk. **_

_**remember to check character picture and descriptions at: kyra - athens dot tumblr dot com**_

_**and to get in just type kyra. **_

* * *

**CHAPTER FOUR,**

The Man Hunter, Part 1

* * *

**KYRA'S POV**

I was sitting rather uncomfortably between Robb and Lothar. The two were talking over me, and I would have suggested that we just switch places so I could sit next to Sansa, but the look my father and mother were giving me was that this was my punishment, to be sitting between two people I wasn't fond of.

I felt like the main course couldn't come fast enough; it was suckling pig in plum sauce, stuffed with chestnuts and white truffles, mashed turnips, rabbit stewed with ale and onions, and spiced squash. I ate in silence, wishing I was down next to the Birds of Prey, or closer to Arya, or even Hodor would be much better than my pig-headed brother and _Robb Stark. _

By the time dessert was served, I was about ready to leave. I was tired of having hot air blown in my direction both right and left. I finished about half of the strawberry pie before I couldn't take it any longer. I put my hands on the table, ready to push out, but instead my brother stopped me.

"Where do you think you're going, Kyra? It's about time for a song. Why don't you sing for us, darling sister?"

I glared at him hard.

"You sing?" Robb chuckled, skeptism in his tone.

"I don't," I narrowed my eyes at him.

"But don't all Noxtowner's know how to sing?"

Lothar laughed, "You'd think... No, no, our dearest Kyra here never tried to sing, never wanted to. We all wonder if it's because she sounds like a horse when she does."

I turned to look at Lothar with a not so amused look, and then picked up my half eaten pie. "Excuse me," I muttered, and just when he thought I was going to leave, I shoved the pie in his face. _Then _I got up to leave.

I could tell that my mother noticed what I had done, and in attempts to distract Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn, she called my sister, Aelinor, and requested her to sing _'Seasons of My Love', _which distracted everyone enough from the bloody strawberry mess I gave Lothar's face.

Picking up my skirts, the first thing I did was leave the Hall. Thankfully my sister's singing distracted everyone well enough to slip out without question. After I was outside, I all but ran to my bedchambers, ready to strip off these skirts, and into something easier to walk in. I got there, stripped down and pulled on some trousers, an open collar chemise, a jerkin to keep me warm, and a doublet to keep me even warmer. I slipped on some boots, and grabbed my quiver and my bow.

It's been hours that I was practicing my shot in the courtyard, but it certainly didn't feel that way. Arrow after arrow would sink into the center of the hay target, one after the other, only hairline distances apart from each other. I never had problems with archery, I was actually fairly good with it. I've always had difficulty with extreme distances, however, making hunting not the best sport of mine. I could shoot down rabbits, and unsuspecting pigeons, but when it comes to game that requites a farther distances, I have a terrible shot.

I was good with one-handed weapons, though. Swords, but not great swords, anything light and able to wield with one hand. However, if I wanted to be a Bird of Prey, I had to train more. Especially my archery.

I went up to the target and pulled out my arrows, and backed up further and further from it until I was at a much farther distance as I was before. I took one of the used arrows and put the nock on the bow string and pulled back, shutting one eye as I narrowed in on the center of the target. I inhaled and exhaled, relaxing my muscles, and then-

"Kyra! Ooo, Lady Kyra!"

My arrow went flying in surprise, and planted itself in the mast behind the target. I sighed irritably, and turned to look at the person who caused my miss.

"What do you want, Waters?" I turned away and marched back to retrieve my arrow.

"We were wonderin' where you went. C'mon, meet us at the Godswood," Aliser had this look to him, like he was up to something.

"Who's we and us?" I asked, shoving my arrows back into my quiver and looking at him with my hand on my hip.

"A few boys... We are going to have a game of Man Hunter. I trust you will be joining us?"

I crossed my arms and looked at him for a moment, "Man Hunter? In the Godswood?"

"Aye."

"What's the catch?"

"Nothing... But Theon and Robb and your brother are joining us... I trust you, as the only female in the group, would be delighted to show them a few things about survival, yes?"

He was defiantly up to something, but beating Theon, Robb and Lothar at a man-drivin game was an offer I couldn't let down. With my eyes still narrowed, and my teeth biting the inside of my cheek, I relented. "You're on."

* * *

**JON SNOW**

The dinner party was still going on, since most of the lords and some ladies were well into their drink, it was easier for most of the younger generation to slip out unnoticed. Jon found himself standing in front of the mouth of the Godswood with seven other men.

There was his brother, Robb, and Theon who stood next to him, talking about the game, and how they never played it before. Greyjoy being... Greyjoy, bragged about how he was going to win without much effort. Robb was more excited about the prospect of doing something new and how this was a game that his father would approve of.

There was Raymund Athens, second of his name. He was the youngest of the group of men at sixteen. He was a charming boy, with a comely face and personality, that it was hard _not _to like him. He was, after all, the Heir to the Athens Lordship after his father, a role he already seemed ready for.

Lothar Athens was there too, the youngest son of Raymund Athens, first of his name. Jon wasn't particularly fond of Lothar, but he wasn't a wall flower. He was the kind of person that you needed to be allies with, even if you didn't like him, because of his charisma, his skill, his prowess with women. In all aspects, Lothar was the complete opposite of Jon, which was probably why he didn't like the youngest Athens son.

Then there was Harwin, son of Hullen, Winterfell's Master of horse. He was much older than Jon, and even more mature than Robb and Theon combined. However, to be perfectly honest, everyone was more mature than Theon and Robb combined, even his younger brothers, Bran and Rickon.

Betharios Snow, also known as the Cardinal, was here as well, with Walder Rivers, the sixth man besides Jon. Betharios was a very optimistic person, always telling jokes, had a wide smile that showed all his teeth, and looked much older than his two-and-five years.

"Is this all? I thought there would be more," Theon commented, looking skeptically around at the competition. Jon was pretty positive that Greyjoy had no idea what The Man Hunt was, but he seemed more confident than the natives in which invented this game.

"Two are coming, don't worry," Jon informed, leaning against a tree trunk.

And on cue, footsteps were sounded not too far away, as the expected two came into the clearing.

"Kyra Athens?" Of course Theon said something as soon as he saw the youngest daughter of Raymund Athens.

However, to Jon's, and everyone else's amusement, Aliser and the girl in question, completely ignored the Iron Born.

"Are we all here? Fantastic," From the sly smirk, Jon wondered if "Songbird" was an appropriate title for Aliser Waters. He was more of a fox, or a crow, or something sneaky and deceiving. Jon only knew him for the few hours, but already he came off as the man who always schemed.

"Now, all you Noxtowner's already know the rules. For you Winterfellows, here's the rules."

_Winterfellows? Is that what they call us? _Jon certainly hoped not. It sounds like the name you would give a tiny seasonal elf.

"I am the Man Hunter," Waters states. "My mission is simple: take down all eight of you lovely men... and Kyra. In order for me to get you, I have to take your banner.

"Your banner will be tied to your person. Your fellow 'prey' will also try to take away your banner. Once your banner is taken, you have to retreat back here with your hands in the air so I, and everyone knows that you have been caught. If one member of your team has their banner taken, that does not mean you, yourself, are out. You may continue on until the game is finished.

"Your objectives is this: To find the clues to the Hunter's - my - weakness. It doesn't matter how many clues you collect, it matters if you can figure it out or not. Keep in mind that clues aren't obvious. You will also try to keep your competitors from finding clues. This means leading them on. That means be vigilante of your surroundings.

"If you happen to be the lucky person that has figured out my weakness, then you must find a way to use it against me. Not just shout out the name of it. This game will test your patience, your survival skills, your strategic skills, your intellect, your teamwork, and of course, your combat skills.

"You will be allowed two pouches of water, a slingshot, and a wooden sword - yes, Lothar, we are not using real weapons as per your mother's rules - a spyglass, hard bread and cheese, flint and steel, and blankets. For those that don't know, a game like this can take a while to win. If that's the case, then break will be when the sun peaks over the horizon, and begins again when it reaches noon.

"When the victor is announced, two blows of a horn will sound, and you all will retreat back here. The victor will receive a prize most precious."

By the wave of snickers by everyone else but Jon, and Kyra, they all thought it would be a whore. Jon didn't blame their assumption, because by the implications of Aliser's tone, it certainly sounded that way.

Then, he became serious, "Now. A few ground rules. No real weapons. No fatal wounds, cutting of limbs, nor aiming near the eyes or anywhere neck up. No hiding your banner; keep it in plain sight; if you fake fealty by hiding or loosing your banner on purpose, you will serve punishment. Once you're in, you're in, there is no surrender. No constant stalking of other teams, and taking their ideas for clues. That is cheating. If you think you can get away with it, well let's just say... a few birdies will tell me, and you will automatically be disqualified, and have to serve a punishment. And one more thing..." He looked around the group with an unnerving stare, "Keep your cocks in your pants, unless you're taking a piss."

Another wave of chuckles at the joke. Jon wasn't sure if that joke was supposed to be directed at him, considering Aliser had promised to make sure that he was partners with Kyra.

The Songbird clapped his hands, "Well. Now that's settled, let's choose our teams."

Walder pulled out a helmet, and explained that they had written the names out of everyone, and will draw out random parchments and they will be partners. Jon knew that the only names that weren't in there was his and Kyra's, thus leaving them two the last to be picked.

"Harwin, and...Lothar," the two walked up to Aliser, who handed them two yellow pieces of cloth. "You will be team Golden Shower."

Snorts all around. Except for Kyra, who Jon saw from the corner of his eye, running a hand down her face.

"Little Lord Rae... and Betharios," he handed the two the same cloth, except green. "Team Horse Shit."

"Lord Robb, and Lady Theon," Aliser smiled at the sheer annoyance and anger across Greyjoy's face.

"Watch it, Waters... Or before you know it, you'll be paying for my whore," he seethed, with an undertone that clearly stated that he had more in store for Aliser if he were to win.

Aliser just kept his cheeky smile, and handed Theon a dark red cloth, "You and Robb will be Team Bloody Fanny."

Theon made a face and marched off, with Robb trailing behind him, trying to hide his growing smile.

"And that will leave Jon, and Kyra. Come on down, you two are Team Frozen Goolies."

Jon had to stop himself from looking at her too long when she rolled her hip to the side and gave Aliser such a scolding look, she nearly resembled Lady Catelyn.

"Really?"

"Really, really," Aliser smiled that smile, and folded the blue cloth into Kyra's hand, and then folded her fingers over it. "Try not to kill everyone."

"Eat shit, Waters."

Jon was started to regret going along with this plan. Kyra barely acknowledged the fact that they were teammates, let alone _looked _at him. But he looked at her, and she did not like what she gotten into.

_It's too late now. _Jon thought as Aliser began talking again.

"You all have an hour probation. Hurry off them, my prey, shoo!"

The first to take off was Raymund and Betharios, and then followed Robb and Theon, and Harwin and Lothar. Jon looked over at Kyra, and not even looking at him, she sighed heavily.

"Let's get this over with," and began to march into the Godswood. It was like Jon didn't exist at all...

* * *

**Aw, poor Jon. Well, hope you like it. If you're confused about the rules of the game, PM me, or ask me in the reviews and I'll reply as soon as I can. **

**Happy Holidays, everyone. **


End file.
